LOCAL ROUNDUP: Spring Game headlines busy weekend

The Pittsburg State Spring Game is scheduled for 10 a.m. Saturday at Brandenburg Field/Carnie Smith Stadium.

By Staff reports

Morning Sun

By Staff reports

Posted Apr. 26, 2013 at 12:01 AM
Updated Apr 26, 2013 at 5:53 PM

By Staff reports

Posted Apr. 26, 2013 at 12:01 AM
Updated Apr 26, 2013 at 5:53 PM

PITTSBURG

The Pittsburg State Spring Game is scheduled for 10 a.m. Saturday at Brandenburg Field/Carnie Smith Stadium.

The Gorillas open their regular season Sept. 7 at home against Northeastern State. Pitt State plays five games at Carnie Smith this season, with Southwest Baptist (Sept. 21), Abilene Christian (Oct. 5), Northwestern Oklahoma (Nov. 2) and Missouri Southern (Nov. 16) in addition to Northeastern State.

The Gorillas are officially the home team in the Fall Classic at Arrowhead XII (Oct. 19) against Northwest Missouri.

Pitt State faces road games against Central Oklahoma (Sept. 14), Lincoln (Sept. 28), Central Missouri (Oct. 12), Missouri Western (Oct. 26) and Lindenwood (Nov. 9). The Gorillas play four of their road games in Missouri with visits to Jefferson City, Warrensburg, St. Joseph and St. Charles.

Homecoming against Abilene Christian will be the first time Pitt State hosts a Division I/FCS opponent.

Abilene Christian makes the jump from Division II to Division I next season; the Wildcats do not play a Southland Conference schedule in 2013 and have Illinois State and New Mexico State, as well as Pitt State and Tarleton State, on the docket, not to mention two games against the University of the Incarnate Word.

Get Busy Livin' 5K Run

The third annual Get Busy Livin' 5K Run will be held Saturday morning at Hutchinson Field, where the late Dylan Meier played his prep football at Pittsburg.

The gates open at 7:15 a.m., packet pickup and late registration 7:30-8:45 a.m., opening announcements 8:45 a.m. and the 5K run/mile walk begin at approximately 9 a.m. A kids' run and awards presentation will follow.

Suggested donations for the 5K and mile walk are $25 and participants receive a 2013 Get Busy Livin No. 9 T-Shirt and wrist band, as well as fruit and refreshments at the finish line.

The Get Busy Livin' Foundation teamed up with Soles 4 Souls last year for a shoe collection effort and they're partnered again this year. Last year, the GBL Foundation collected over 700 pairs. The Soles 4 Souls' 2013 mission is to collect over 264,000 shoes to go to Haiti. Shoes can be dropped off at the run Saturday or at Commerce Bank, Jock's Nitch, Pitsco or your local school prior to race day.

On getbusylivin.org, one can find Dylan's favorite music, tunes played at his service, including Neil Young ("Harvest Moon," his 1992 sequel to 1972's "Harvest), the Rolling Stones ("Wild Horses"), the Band ("The Weight") and Bob Marley ("Redemption Song," which features the powerful couplet "Emancipate yourselves from mental slavery; none but ourselves can free our minds"). These songs have been part of the soundtrack of the 5K Run.

College basketball

The Pittsburg State women's basketball program announced the addition of three transfers and one high school recruit — Katy Cooper, Tamiaya Henderson, Alex Muff and Antqunita (Nett) Reed.

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Cooper played two seasons at Northeastern Oklahoma A&M in Miami. Muff played four years of volleyball at Kansas State and is the oldest daughter of Pitt State men's basketball coach Kevin Muff. Henderson excelled in high school at Mount Vernon, Mo. Reed earned Southern Conference Player of the Year honors at junior college St. Petersburg College her sophomore year.

"Katy is a good athlete at the post position," Pitt State head coach Lane Lord said in a media release. "At 6-2, she can post up inside or step out and shoot a mid-range jumper or 3-point shot. Her best attribute is her ability to run the floor and play with high energy from the post position. Katy is also a good shot blocker and rebounds the ball in traffic.

"Tamaiya has outstanding athletic ability at the forward position. She has the ability to put the ball on the floor and create her own shot and is also a good passer. Her length and athleticism will be a welcomed addition for the Gorillas. We feel Tamaiya has a tremendous amount of potential and her best basketball is in front of her as she learns to play the college game.

"We are really excited to have Alex at Pittsburg State. She has exceptional speed and strength at the post position and she has a high basketball IQ. After playing four years of volleyball at Kansas State, we feel Alex will be able to step right in and provide leadership and experience for our basketball team. She is a phenomenal athlete that can score and defend.

"Nett will bring the Gorillas scoring from the perimeter, rebounding and great athleticism on both ends of the court. She is a complete player and great competitor. The coaches and players are excited to have a player of Nett's ability join the Gorilla Nation."

This late-period signing haul adds to the fall signings of Hadyn Herlocker and Paige Lungwitz for a team not far removed from an Elite Eight.

High school baseball

PARSONS — Pittsburg defeated the Parsons Vikings 12-10 and 12-2 in five innings Thursday night. Pittsburg softball also swept Parsons and more on both Pittsburg baseball and softball will be in the next edition.

In a meeting of former Crawford-Neosho-Cherokee League rivals Thursday, Riverton swept Northeast 16-6 and 10-0.

High school tennis

PARSONS — Pittsburg head tennis coach John Seal called Thursday a great day for the PHS team and tennis program.

The Purple Dragons finished second at the Southeast Kansas League Tournament with three second places and one third.

“Hank Cloninger played the match of his career and came back from 0-6 and 1-5 to win 0-6, 7-5 and 6-2,” Seal said. “Adrian (McAfee) played great in the finals, losing in the third set. Both doubles teams had great semifinal wins against Parsons.”

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Cloninger, No. 4 seed in No. 1 singles, finished third. He defeated Pedro Limas of Chanute 8-1 in the first round, then came his only loss in the semifinals to eventual champion Payton Hays of Parsons, 8-0. Cloninger rebounded with a consolation bracket win over Caleb Mathes of Labette County 8-4 and defeated David Paul Kritz of Coffeyville in his final match 0-6, 7-5, 6-2.

Adrian McAfee, No. 2 seed in No. 2 singles, breezed past Aaron McCoach of Labette County in his first match 8-0 and defeated Mitchell Reitz of Coffeyville 6-2, 6-3 to set up a final showdown with top seed Josh Hilger of Independence. McAfee lost 4-6, 6-0, 6-3 for second.

The Japan Karate-do Genbu-Kai of Pittsburg will be celebrating 36 years of karate in Pittsburg with its annual tournament Saturday at the St. Mary's Colgan Fieldhouse. The event, the largest traditional invitational karate tournament in the Midwest, begins at 9:30 a.m.

Shihan Fumio Demura, chief instructor of Shito-Ryu Genbu-Kai and world-renowned martial artist, will be in attendance.

Expected participants are 150-200 martial artists.

Scholarship

Pittsburg High senior Chris Huyett, the son of Andy and Connie Huyett, has been awarded the Adam Newbery Memorial Scholarship, given every year to a PHS football or track and field athlete.

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Huyett participated in football and track all four years at PHS. In football, Huyett, a lineman, received All-SEK Honorable Mention for his play his senior year. Huyett also participated in the Skills USA team. His plans are to attend Fort Scott Community College and later Pittsburg State, majoring in wood technology.

Newbery, a football and track athlete, played on the Pittsburg High back-to-back state runner-up teams of 2000 and 2001, the Coffeyville Community College's conference runner-up team of 2003 and the Division II national runner-up Pitt State team in 2004. Newbery's parents, John and Nancy, provide the scholarship.

College baseball

Pittsburg State sophomore pitcher George Brandecker extended his consecutive scoreless innings streak to 14 2/3 innings with a one-hit shutout of Missouri Southern on Wednesday at Al Ortolani Field.

Brandecker allowed one baserunner, no extra-base hits, on a Shaun Hoover single in the third. No. 26 generated five strikeouts and the defense played spotless behind him for eight flyouts and eight groundouts.

LAWRENCE — Kansas defeated Baker 7-1 on Wednesday at Hoglund Ballpark. The Jayhawks reached 25 wins on the season, defeating a NAIA program in Baker with only six wins this season.

Kansas senior and Girard native Tanner Poppe started the contest but received no decision for pitching only the first two innings. Poppe gave up one run on three hits and struck out three.

Drew Morovick earned the win, his third of the season, a total for the sophomore which matches the win total of his freshman season. Junior Mustain, Colin Toalson and Hayden Edwards also pitched in relief Wednesday for the 'Hawks.

Kansas was led offensively by Kevin Kuntz and Tucker Tharp, who each had two hits. Alex DeLeon hit a three-run home run.

The Jayhawks travel to West Virginia for a three-game weekend series.

College rowing

LAWRENCE — Kansas junior and St. Mary's Colgan alum Caity Decker was recently featured by Kansas Athletics as an "athlete spotlight."

It chronicled Decker's battles with Spina Bifida (seven out of 10,000 births), Tibial torsion and von Willebrand disease (less than 1 percent of the population).

Spina Bifida, a birth defect, affects the spine, Tibial Torsion caused Decker to be born with her shins and feet facing backwards (she wore leg braces until she was 4), and VWD is a blood disorder which can result in massive bleeding from just about anything. Decker found out from a doctor that she will have nose bleeds for the rest of her life.

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"A short nose bleed would be six hours long," Decker said in the feature. "I would have nose bleeds many times a month and miss lots of school because you bleed for a full day and then recovery probably takes two more days. I would bleed for about five hours and then pass out. After about four hours, they would put me in an ice bath to cool my body down."

The feature also included Decker's sister, Jordan.

"Even with someone who does not have these disorders, what she has accomplished is pretty amazing," Jordan said. "She is definitely one-of-a-kind. When people find out what she has been through, it puts it in a different perspective. It's just a part of her life. We are all really amazed and proud of her."

High school track

CANEY — The Northeast boys finished second at the Caney Valley Invitational on a chilly Tuesday for any outside activity.

J.T. Richardson won the triple jump with a mark of 39 feet, 1 inch and won the long jump in 19-8. He finished second in the 100-meter dash in 13.09 seconds.

Michael Toms finished second in the 1,600 in 5:33. Antonio Slingluff placed third in the 100 in 13.10, third in the high jump in 5-4 and fifth in the long jump in 18-0.

Killian Willard finished sixth in the long jump in 16-1, Kegan Willard sixth in the triple jump at 34-4, Austin Wonderly fifth in the high jump at 4-10, Phoenix Crain fifth in the javelin at 103-2, Cameron Crigler sixth in the 400 at 1:03.56, Gage Moore fourth in the 110 hurdles in 22.31 and Michael Balk third in the pole vault at 8-6. The 4x800 finished second in 11:08.66.

On the girls side, Stephanie Enloe won the 400 in 15.21 and Hope Cole took fourth in 15.53. Cole took fifth in the triple jump at 24-7 1/4.